Kentucky Psychology Licensure Requirements

500

Doctoral-level licensed psychologist: EPPP scaled score of 500 or greater (201 KAR 26:230 Section 3(2)); the board also accepts a previous EPPP score that satisfied the doctoral criterion at the time it was taken. This is the ASPPB-recommended doctoral cut score. Kentucky's lower-tier credentials use different cut scores: licensed psychological practitioner also 500 (Section 4), licensed psychological associate 400 (Section 5). Nothing in the current regulation adopts an EPPP Part 1 / Part 2 split.

201 KAR 26:190 Section 1 requires a minimum of 3,600 hours of supervised professional experience for licensure as a psychologist. Exactly 1,800 of those must be a predoctoral internship (with at least 100 hours of supervisory sessions). The other 1,800 hours may be predoctoral, postdoctoral, or a combination, so there is no fixed postdoctoral figure — postDoc is left null deliberately. At least 50% of the supervised experience must be in service-related activities. Separately, the 'health service provider' designation (required in order to clinically supervise psychological health care services) takes a further 1,800 hours of clinically supervised experience beyond the 3,600 (201 KAR 26:125 Section 3; KRS 319.050(7)). For time accounting, 201 KAR 26:171 Section 6(1) treats 1,800 hours of supervised practice as one year of experience.

Required

Two Kentucky-specific examinations, taken after the EPPP is passed and the board has approved the supervised experience: (1) a jurisprudence examination on Kentucky mental health law, passing score 80%; and (2) a competency examination on ethical principles and professional practice, passing score 100%, administered by two board-approved licensed psychologists. Each may be attempted a maximum of three times, and a board-approved remediation plan is required before each retake.

Fee: $150 (covers both the jurisprudence and competency examinations); $250 per retake of either examination

The competency examination is waived for applicants who are ABPP board-certified or hold a current license in good standing from a jurisdiction with a reciprocity agreement with the Kentucky board (201 KAR 26:230 Section 3(4)); the jurisprudence examination is not waived and applies to reciprocity and out-of-state endorsement applicants as well (201 KAR 26:180 Section 3; 201 KAR 26:185 Sections 2 and 3). A temporary licensee must pass both Kentucky examinations within one year of temporary-license approval (201 KAR 26:155 Section 2(5)).

1. Earn a doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited institution whose program and curriculum meet 201 KAR 26:200.
2. Complete at least 3,600 hours of board-approved supervised professional experience: an 1,800-hour predoctoral internship plus 1,800 additional hours that may be predoctoral, postdoctoral, or a mix.
3. File the Application for Licensure as a Psychologist with the $150 application review fee, sealed transcripts, and three professional recommendations (two from psychology doctorates); applicants on or after July 15, 2026 must also clear a Kentucky State Police and FBI fingerprint background check under KRS 319.045.
4. Request a temporary license to practice under a board-approved health-service-provider supervisor with at least one hour of weekly individual supervision; it is valid one year and requires you to sit for the EPPP within that year.
5. Pass the EPPP with a scaled score of 500 or greater.
6. Pass the Kentucky jurisprudence examination (80% or higher) and the competency examination (100%), which are scheduled only after the EPPP is passed and the board has approved your supervised experience.
7. Pay the $795 initial licensure fee covering the first three-year period and renew every three years for $795; complete 1,800 further clinically supervised hours if you want the health service provider designation.

PSYPACT member

Kentucky has two out-of-state pathways. 201 KAR 26:180 (reciprocity) applies when the other jurisdiction has an actual reciprocity agreement with the Kentucky board: the applicant must hold a current license in good standing from an ASPPB constituent board, have at least five years of full-time practice or its equivalent, and have no discipline from any licensure board; a $150 reciprocity application fee applies. Holders of the ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ), National Register credential, or ABPP board certification with five years of independent practice and no discipline are deemed to meet the reciprocity qualifications. 201 KAR 26:185 covers applicants licensed in a state with no reciprocity agreement: same five-years-of-practice and no-discipline conditions, plus three references, official transcripts, a CV, and a verified EPPP scaled score of 500 or greater. Both routes still require the Kentucky jurisprudence examination; the competency examination is waived for ABPP diplomates and for licensees from reciprocity-agreement jurisdictions. Where an out-of-state applicant lacks the additional 1,800 hours for the health service provider designation, the board may accept equivalent employment experience (201 KAR 26:180 Section 5). Kentucky has enacted the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) at KRS 319.054, effective June 29, 2021; implementing regulations are still in process (201 KAR 26:118E emergency and 201 KAR 26:118REG proposed are listed on the LRC chapter index, and the board's home page posts a 'Notice of PSYPACT Proposed Rulemaking'). KRS 319.045(1)(c) also requires a fingerprint background check for Kentucky credential holders seeking compact authorization to practice outside the Commonwealth.

Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology

(502) 564-3296

Official board page →